THE HEALEY/DRISCOLL administration will take office at a time when rider confidence in the MBTA and T employee morale have reached unprecedented lows. The necessary task of restoring confidence and morale will be a challenging one, but it cannot be avoided or deferred.

In a recent article, I observed that while it is unlikely (and, I would add, undesirable) for Gov.-elect Maura Healey to assume the role of disruptor-in-chief when it comes to the T, she could nevertheless be a highly transformational governor. Today I want to offer some thoughts focused on a short list of topics that, if deftly handled, can transform the MBTA into a safe and reliable system that supports three key policy goals:

  • Jobs growth by investing in convenient transit access to destinations clustered at transit and rail nodes;
  • Mode shift to reduce carbon and particulate emissions in the short term; and
  • Regional and social equity, focused on access to opportunities and inclusive housing policies.

I offer here specific ideas for improvement under four categories: governance, funding stability, safety, and decarbonization.

Governance

 In addition to appointing a new secretary of transportation and an MBTA general manager, the new governor will have the ability to make three immediate appointments to the T Board to replace the three current T Board members who occupy coterminous terms of office.  These replacements are critical for the restoration of rider confidence in the agency, and they will offer an important insight into the thinking and priorities of the new administration.  Healey will also get to name the chair of the board, presumably from one of her new appointments, and this also will help inspire confidence that the status quo is changing.

The incoming administration also has an opportunity to reconsider the current governance structure that places both the T and its safety oversight agency under complete gubernatorial control.  The Federal Transit Administration has warned against this, and we know that the current system simply does not work.  I strongly support adding municipalities to the T Board, as a way to balance the power structure and make the T more accountable to riders and to delivering results.  On a seven-person board, I would have three seats reserved for municipalities, one for Boston (given its outsized role), and two chosen by the MBTA Advisory Board from inner and outer core MBTA communities.

Funding Stability

The T cannot emerge from the double-trauma of pandemic-induced ridership loss and the collapse of essential and basic elements of quality service delivery without sufficient resources, both funding resources and personnel resources. The T’s operating budget is chronically underfunded and facing shortfalls.  Another shortfall looms, probably sometime in 2024, as federal COVID relief funding is depleted. The only reason the T may avoid an operating budget shortfall in 2023 is a bad one: it is so short staffed that its payroll is significantly under budget.

Working with the Legislature, the new administration can put an end to decades of operating budget underfunding and instability. Fare revenues, which are not projected to rise above 78 percent of the pre-pandemic benchmark through the next four years, have contributed about 33 percent of the total of T operating revenues. That is no longer sustainable, and the Commonwealth needs to find a new, stable, permanent source of operating budget revenues going forward.

I have proposed that the governor and Legislature transfer the costs of paratransit from the T and the state regional transit authorities, and make funding that service an obligation of the Commonwealth.  This could be a quick and effective way to free up about $140 million in operating funds, without raising any taxes or fees or fares, that the T can use starting in FY2024 to hire and attract the professionals it will need to accomplish the massive job of restoring service quality and rider confidence. More needs to be done, but this would be a good and politically painless first step.

Safety

The new administration will need to decide whether it wants to stay with the current structure of having the Department of Public Utilities in the role of the Commonwealth’s transit safety oversight agency.  The hearing held by Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey exposed the ugly, unvarnished truth that the DPU has been woefully unprepared to fulfill its role as the state’s safety oversight agency, and that is putting it politely.  I strongly recommend an intensive 30-day review of options, looking to best practices from other transit agencies, before making a final decision regarding

  • What the new state safety oversight  agency structure should look like; and
  • How to begin a “from the ground up” rebuilding of a safety oversight agency with sufficient capability (funding and personnel resources), with key performance indicators that will be monitored and measured at the gubernatorial level.

Safety means a lot more than a properly staffed dispatching center or accelerated repair initiatives.  It also means resolving the current epidemic of out-of-service subway escalators. This is more than a matter of convenience. It can often be a matter of safety as riders often walk up long flights of stairs when they probably shouldn’t.  The presence of elevators, often dirty, frequently clunky, almost-always forbidding environments, is not an adequate alternative for many people. Riders deserve more respect than they are getting and one way to demonstrate that things are changing is to triage the restoration of these escalators across the system.

Finally, while the T must make safety a priority, it cannot be the only priority.  Service delivery needs to take equal priority.  That means restoring weekday frequencies on the subway and accelerating hiring bus drivers (that will require opening up the current collective bargaining agreement that currently acts as a disincentive to new hires) to restore full bus transit service.

Decarbonization

While electric vehicle adoption is critical to our long-term goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050, we must acknowledge that the EV adoption process is likely to be slow, uneven, and unequal. Because there is a time value to carbon emissions (emissions are cumulative), short term reductions, even if smaller in scale, are better than waiting to realize reductions in the long term. Mode shift (from auto to transit, rail, cycling) is an effective way to reduce carbon (and particulate matter) emissions in the short term. The MBTA can play a crucial role in achieving 10 percent to 20 percent  mode shift if three things happen:

  • Restoration of service frequencies that match rider needs;
  • Improvements to connectivity that improve access to and from key density locations;
  • Adoption of the previous MBTA oversight board’s phase 1 regional rail plan, which includes a transition to a rail system powered by so-called electric multiple units.

These initiatives also have a public health benefit. There is substantial recent data and research that points in the direction of particulate matter emissions being a serious threat to public health. Particulates come from activities like brake and tire friction, so they remain even if you are driving an EV.  They are often concentrated in inner core communities where traffic congestion causes more braking, so places like Chelsea, Revere, East Boston are particularly vulnerable. In 2020, Harvard’s Chan School of Public Health issued a report demonstrating that long-term exposure to particulates was tied to 15 percent higher COVID mortality rates:

A more recent research paper demonstrates links between particulates and suicide rates:

These public health considerations should be addressed as we decarbonize the transport sector, and the new administration can make positive strides in reducing particulates by centering mode shift as a key component of its overall transport decarbonization plan.  Mode shift is only possible with sustained, deliberate investments in the transit and rail system.

Two projects should be advanced as early action priorities because they advance these goals. The good news is that both projects provide multiple benefits that offer a big bang for the buck.

  • Electrification of regional rail is a “three-fer” because it reduces carbon emissions from dirty diesel locomotives, it can provide significantly improved service delivery (electric multiple units have much better dwell times and speed than locomotives), and it saves a lot of money over time because maintenance costs are lower and equipment failures are infinitesimally small compared to diesel locomotives. Achieving better service and lower life cycle costs is smart, no matter how you look at it.
  • The second project is the Red/Blue Connector. Connecting the Red and Blue lines is another, compelling “three-fer” (it’s such a good idea it’s actually a “four-fer”). It supports access to jobs at key locations (Suffolk Downs, Kendall Square, the new developments at the Hurley Building and Haymarket, Government Center, Masssachusetts General Hospital, and Logan Airport); it reduces emissions because it provides travelers from Kendall Square heading to Logan a quick and efficient ride directly to the airport; it provides real social equity to MGH patients from Revere and East Boston seeking access to medical care via public transit, and it provides critical new capacity for a subway system that can operate more nimbly and efficiently when connectivity among subway lines is maximized and optimized.

The new governor and her team face a daunting task, perhaps the most serious crisis in the history of the MBTA.  I have offered here specific, practical, and (I believe) effective actions that can be taken to redirect the fortunes of our metro Boston public transport network. A legion of motivated transit advocates, T riders, and transit-dependent employers stand ready to support the Healey administration as it moves forward with a smart and aggressive change agenda. The incoming administration can be transformational and support the post-pandemic growth of metro Boston in ways that history will judge favorably.

James Aloisi is a former Massachusetts secretary of transportation who serves on the TransitMatters board of firectors.